Nathaniel Brumfield, son of John B. Brumfield and Margaret (Kelly) Brumfield, married Charlotte Temple Ott, daughter of Jacob Ott III and Margaret (Jackson) Ott in 1835.[i]
Census records show Nathaniel in Washington Parish in 1840[ii]and 1850[iii]. In 1850 Nathaniel was a 51-year-old farmer whose land was valued at $13,500. [It is Nathaniel’s age in this census which gives us his birth year.] He and Charlotte had four children at home: Martin Penn Brumfield, 13; Jessie Alexander Brumfield, 11; John D. Brumfield, 8; and Sarah Lucy Brumfield who was 5 years old.[iv] In 1850 his farm was valued at $13,500.[v]It was a very productive farm.
Nathaniel Brumfield produced 37 bales of 400 pounds each (along 4,000 pounds of rice and other foodstuffs) on 200 acres of clear and cultivatable land with a work force coming from his 24 slaves.[vi]
The area farmers grew cotton, rice, Indian corn, and oats. The 1850 crop yield for the area farmers was down from the year before due to a draught.[vii]
The average man who followed agriculture produced everything possible on his farm in an effort to give his family an adequate lifestyle. Few men in that category found opportunity to obtain or accumulate money for anything except essentials. The house, the furniture, and most of the farm implements had been products of the farmer’s hands and his labors. If the husband and father was a good provider, the family owned a horse, a few cows, some sheep, hogs and probably a pair of work oxen.[viii]
Nathaniel was only 53 years old when he died on 8 February 1852.[ix] He is buried in the Brumfield Place Cemetery, Clifton, Washington Parish, Louisiana.[x]After Nathaniel’s death Charlotte married his brother, Elijah Brumfield.
[i]Wallis, Ruth Temple. Descendants of Jacob Ott of South Carolina and Louisiana(Bogalusa, LA: Privately Printed, 1967.)
[ii]1840 US Census, LA, Washington; digital image, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed January 2020) Nathl Brumfield.
[iii]1850 US Census, LA, Washington; digital image, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed January 2020) n. Bromfield.
[iv]Williams, Jr., Ernest Russ. A Potpourri of Historical Data concerning the Founding Families and Individuals of Washington Parish, Louisiana, 1798 – 1860 (Monroe, LA: Northeast Louisiana University, 1990).
[v]1850 US Census, LA; digital image, Ancestry(ancestry.com: accessed 2015) N Bromfield.
[vi]Williams, Jr., E. Russ, History of Washington Parish, Louisiana, 1798 – 1992 (1994).
[vii]Williams, Jr., E. Russ, History of Washington Parish, Louisiana, 1798 – 1992 (1994) 73.
[viii]Williams, Jr., E. Russ, History of Washington Parish, Louisiana, 1798 – 1992 (1994) 74.
[ix]Randolph, Ruth Brumfield, and Nell Brumfield Jacobs Smith, Brumfields Revisited: Ancestors and Descendants of George Y. and Martha Penny Brumfield(Privately printed, 1995).
[x]Find A Grave(findagrave.com: accessed November 2017) Memorial #178734118, Nathaniel Brumfield, 1813-1854 (Brumfield Place Cemetery, Clifton, Washington, LA).
….. 1 Nathaniel Brumfield b: 1813 LA
….. + Charlotte Temple Ott b: 1815 LA
……….. 2 Martin Penn Brumfield b: 15 March 1837 LA
……….. 2 Jessie Alexander Brumfield b: 27 Sept 1838 LA
……….. + Martha Elizabeth Alford b: 08 August 1846 MS
…………….. 3 Martin Ellis Brumfield b: Sept 1865 MS
…………….. + Dollie King b: June 1877 Louisiana
…………….. 3 Rose Ella Brumfield b: 18 July 1867 MS
…………….. + Jasper Pascal Brown b: 15 May 1865 MS
…………….. 3 John Edward Brumfield b: Nov 1869 MS
…………….. + Ada Beatrice Fortenberry b: 1893
…………….. 3 Fletcher Boyd Brumfield b: 28 June 1875 MS
…………….. + Mattie Burmfield b: MS
…………….. 3 Lily E. Brumfield b: 1876 MS
…………….. + Julius Alford b: 25 October 1869 LA
…………….. 3 Daisy L. Brumfield b: July 1879 MS
…………….. + Cornelius Alford
…………….. 3 Lucy May Brumfield b: 12 April 1881 MS
…………….. 3 Sallie Joy Brumfield b: 31 May 1884 MS
…………….. + Joseph Ed Brumfield b: Abt. 1873 MS
……….. 2 John D. Brumfield b: 29 July 1842 LA
……….. + Zadie Martin
…………….. 3 John D. T. Brumfield b: Sept 1890 LA
…………….. 3 James H. Brumfield b: July 1892 LA
……….. 2 Sarah Lucy Brumfield b: 21 Nov 1845 LA
……….. + Isaac Roberts
……….. 2 Laura Brumfield b: 19 April 1851 LA
……….. + Needham Alford
Selected Sources:
- 1850 US Census, Louisiana
- 1860 US Census, Washington County, Louisiana, Page 3.
- Clawson, Alma Dell Magee. Fields of Bloom. Privately printed. 1972.
- Conerly, Luke Ward, SOURCE RECORDS FROM PIKE COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI 1798-1910; 1798-1910; South Carolina, Southern Historical Press, 1989
- Wallis, Ruth Temple. Descendants of Jacob Ott of South Carolina and Louisiana. 1967. Bogalusa, Louisiana. Privately printed.
- Williams, Jr., Ernest Russ. A Potpourri of Historical Data concerning the Founding Families and Individuals of Washington Parish, Louisiana, 1798 – 1860. Monroe, LA: Northeast Louisiana University, 1990. 976.31
- Williams, Jr., E. Russ. History of Washington Parish, Louisiana 1798 – 1992. I. 1994. 976.311